8-year-old Smothered to Death by 12-year-old Cousin in Tennessee; Prosecutors Seeking Maximum Penalty for the Killer
Humboldt, Tennessee-
In Tennessee, a 12-year-old girl has been charged with murder after it is alleged that she choked her 8-year-old cousin while the younger child slept. They had been fighting over an iPhone, according to a relative.
The murder was captured on camera on July 15, in Humboldt, Tennessee, inside the bedroom they shared, according to the county prosecutor.
According to Gibson District Attorney Frederick Agee’s statement, the recording shows the older child suffocating her cousin with bedding while the younger girl slept in the top bunk. “The juvenile cleaned up the victim and repositioned her body,” Agee stated.
Rayana Smith, the mother of the victim, told Memphis’s CBS station WREG-TV that the girls had been fighting over an iPhone since they had traveled from out of town to be with their grandmother. She mentioned Demeria Hollingsworth, age eight, as her daughter.
After officials got the video on Wednesday, the 12-year-old girl was charged with first-degree murder and tampering with evidence.
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“I consider this to be one of the most disturbing violent acts committed by either an adult or juvenile that my office has prosecuted,” Agee said in a statement.
The girl will turn 13 later this month. He said he would ask the judge to prosecute her in adult court so that she may receive “a lengthier sentence, whether that will be through incarceration or supervision with court-ordered conditions.”
“Last time I seen my baby, she was smiling, giving me kisses, telling me she will see me when it’s time for her to come back home. She never coming back home. She never coming back home,” Smith told the station.
As of Monday morning, Smith’s GoFundMe had amassed almost $14,000.
“I never imagined anything like this would happen and now find myself trying to fund a funeral,” the website states.